Charlie's Prostate Cancer Journal

Before I begin writing about the surgery, I should write some very good news: my first post-operative PSA test results came back. My PSA level is below 0.01 -- essentially undetectable. That's the best post-op news someone in my situation could hear. Now, about the surgery.

Johns Hopkins operates several facilities in the Baltimore area that one would think of as hospitals: Johns Hopkins Hospital, located northeast of the inner harbor area; an outpatient center just east of the inner harbor; and the Bayview Medical Center, east of the city center just of I-95. As I had mentioned in the earlier post, the surgery was to be performed at the Bayview Center, but that was labeled incorrectly on the older map. But, after a few twists and turns, we made it.

My intake was scheduled for 11am, with the surgery beginning at 1:30pm. We arrived a little early, and of course the surgeon was delayed by the first procedure of the day. They hooked me up to an IV right away, as I was a little dehydrated. Coleen and I played charades in the pre-op ward for the better part of an hour before they walked me over to the prep room. They added stuff to the IV, gave me an antacid, and wheeled me out to the operating theater.

And that's the last thing I remember. I have no memory of being in the operating room, no memory of waking up in Recovery in (what they tell me was) terrible pain. Nothing. The next time I was aware of anything, it was when my wife was teleporting around my room, a little before 6pm. I'd open my eyes, and she'd be on the right side of the bed. I'd blink, and she'd be on the left side. I have vague memories of the time before that -- I think somewhere during that time, my surgeon came in and told me that things had gone well, and the nurses seemed to be coming and going, changing my IV bags and checking this and that. My wife tells me that they would not let her come and see me at first because I was in such discomfort.

I think the anesthesiologist and his assistant came to see me as well to tell me that they may have chipped one of my teeth and scratched my throat when putting in the breathing tube. As far as I can tell, I've no broken teeth, and I never used the throat spray they gave to me. So, all in all, it seems to have gone well.

The specific procedure I had was a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), a relatively new procedure that is in the category of 'minimally invasive' surgeries. Rather than opening the patient up with a large incision, the surgeon makes smaller incisions through which the laparoscope is inserted, along with the cutting instruments. I have four abdominal incisions in all, one about 1-1/4" directly below my navel, two more about 1/2" each about four inches on either side, and the fourth a little more that 1/4" closer to my groin. Doctors can perform laparoscopic surgery either directly, amnipulating the instruments themselves, or by way of a robot. My surgeon did mine by hand, using a robot only to position the scope and the lights. He says he prefers to have the feel of the instrument, and who was I to argue? After, we pay him the big bucks because of his dexterity.

Of course, I remember none of the procedure. Just waking up with Coleen teleporting in the room, and a night of rest.

Until my roommate arrived.